Investigating the Role of Cognitive Abilities in Computational Thinking for Young Learners

With the global movement to incorporate computer science instruction into elementary education, learners are being introduced to computer science and computational thinking (CS/CT) ideas at increasingly younger ages. At these early ages, young learners are developing cognitive abilities foundational to their education. While other discipline-based education fields, such as math, science, and reading, have long studied the role of cognitive abilities, such as short-term working memory and long-term retrieval, in their respective fields, similar research in computer science education is relatively sparse. In this exploratory study, we examined the relationship between cognitive abilities and CS/CT performance of fourth-grade students (ages 9-10) who underwent either an introductory CT curriculum based on Use–>Modify–>Create or the same curriculum with additional scaffolding from the TIPP&SEE metacognitive learning strategy. Our analysis revealed performance on CT assessments to be weakly correlated with working memory and long-term retrieval, with correlations increasing as the CT concepts grew more complex. This suggests that scaffolding beyond TIPP&SEE may be needed with more complex CT concepts. We also found that when using TIPP&SEE, students scoring below average on cognitive ability tests performed as well as students in the control condition with average cognitive ability scores. These results indicate TIPP&SEE’s potential in creating more equitable computing instruction. We hope that results from this initial exploration can help encourage further study into the role of cognitive abilities in CS/CT education for young learners.